Shadow Work in Science Fiction: Maniac
Posted: 09 Apr 2019, 12:22
I just finished watching a Netflix series called "Maniac".
I know it would not be everyone's cup of tea but it sure was mine. I'm not a big science fiction fan per se. It really depends. I fall more into the Kurt Vonnegut school of science fiction, which many don't count as sci-fi.
But the reason I am writing about this show here is because the main plot of the story is clearly (though never stated in so many words) about Shadow work.
In the show, the 2 main characters take part in a testing group for a new pharmaceutical drug that is intended to "fix everyone's brain." The premise is we are all at least a little eff'd - up in one way or another and the source of that is some unresolved trauma.
Each participant is given a series of 3 pills. A, B, and C. They take them one at a time, they "sleep" and have an experience.
A is for Angonia (greek for agony) and when the person takes it they relive their worst trauma. Exactly as it happened. When they wake up they are shaken as if it had just happened. (Side note: Some people become addicted to the A pill. They actually enjoy revisiting their trauma again and again. Interesting, no?)
Once the trauma is identified and fresh in mind, the participants are given the B pill. This stands for Behavorial. In this phase, which is repeated several times, the users have dreams in which they see in an exagerated way, how their behaviour has been affected by their trauma. They see all the lies they tell themselves about themselves. They face ugly versions of themselves, and they see the kinds of awful things they are capable of.
The last pill, C, stands for confrontation. This is where the participants face their shadow, the darkness, the place where they've become stuck, and confront and resolve it.
It's a strange show for sure. In my opinion, it is beautifully made, the acting is brilliant (the main characters go through many iterations of themselves.) There is A LOT going on. There is a fair bit of humour but it is on the dark side for sure. I really don't think that anyone with any familiarity with Shadow work could miss the parallel with it in this show.
If anyone else has seen it, I'd really like to know what you thought of it.
I know it would not be everyone's cup of tea but it sure was mine. I'm not a big science fiction fan per se. It really depends. I fall more into the Kurt Vonnegut school of science fiction, which many don't count as sci-fi.
But the reason I am writing about this show here is because the main plot of the story is clearly (though never stated in so many words) about Shadow work.
In the show, the 2 main characters take part in a testing group for a new pharmaceutical drug that is intended to "fix everyone's brain." The premise is we are all at least a little eff'd - up in one way or another and the source of that is some unresolved trauma.
Each participant is given a series of 3 pills. A, B, and C. They take them one at a time, they "sleep" and have an experience.
A is for Angonia (greek for agony) and when the person takes it they relive their worst trauma. Exactly as it happened. When they wake up they are shaken as if it had just happened. (Side note: Some people become addicted to the A pill. They actually enjoy revisiting their trauma again and again. Interesting, no?)
Once the trauma is identified and fresh in mind, the participants are given the B pill. This stands for Behavorial. In this phase, which is repeated several times, the users have dreams in which they see in an exagerated way, how their behaviour has been affected by their trauma. They see all the lies they tell themselves about themselves. They face ugly versions of themselves, and they see the kinds of awful things they are capable of.
The last pill, C, stands for confrontation. This is where the participants face their shadow, the darkness, the place where they've become stuck, and confront and resolve it.
It's a strange show for sure. In my opinion, it is beautifully made, the acting is brilliant (the main characters go through many iterations of themselves.) There is A LOT going on. There is a fair bit of humour but it is on the dark side for sure. I really don't think that anyone with any familiarity with Shadow work could miss the parallel with it in this show.
If anyone else has seen it, I'd really like to know what you thought of it.